Backwards
by Tauria
Summary: One evening, the Hyper Force are attacked while studying some police files they have been asked to investigate. When they are thrown into an alternate reality... What chaos will ensue now?
1. Prologue

**Tauria: **Okay, for once I know where my idea came from. It has been forming in the back of my head for a while now, ever since I read Annime's stories _The Time Twister, _and the _The Time Warp. _So, I want to dedicate it to her, because . . . yeah. So I hope she likes this! :DD And I hope she likes this.

**Chiro: **Yeah, yeah. You said you were going to be mean to Antauri!

**Tauria: **You hush. And I am going to be.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own SRMT . . . okay? Please quit making me put this! I get so tired of it!

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><p><strong>Backwards <strong>

**Prologue**

As the sun set over Shuggazoom City, a shadowy figure stood underneath the safety of the Robot's head. Sapphire eyes watched as all became dark, and the stars shone brightly. The owner of this pair of eyes was thinking back to a past that he had hoped was all over. He hoped it had never had to happen again.

_'But it's not . . . and now history is repeating itself . . .' _he thought. _'And now they have to pay for it.' _

He hadn't thought about his past for a long time, but now was being forced to consider it again. He had done so much since he was that little kid. He had experienced and seen so much. He had learned so much . . . Although he had faced much more terrifying things, he could not bring himself to face his past. He had hoped that they could protect him from it . . . but now they were gone . . . and he didn't know if they would ever come back . . .

But now he had to face his past . . . he had to try to save them . . . He had no choice. And he was all alone . . .

He took one last glance at the Super Robot that had been his home for so long . . . that had been his refuge when he finally couldn't take it anymore . . . Then, he disappeared into the night, taking paths and shortcuts that were unknown to most . . . including the Monkey Team . . .

* * *

><p><strong>Tauria: <strong>Well, let me know what you think! I hope you like this, and a big shout out to AnimeAdict202, for the great inspiration for this story ^.^ So, thank you Annime!

**Chiro: **Please leave a review . . .


	2. Three Days Before

**Tauria: **Wow, I didn't expect to get so many reviews for the prologue! I'm really glad you guys are so interested in this story. :DD And I hope you like this chapter as much as you did the prologue. ^.^

**Disclaimer: **I don't own SRMT! Although it would be pretty cool if I did . . .

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>_  
><em>

_Three Days Before_

Chiro, a boy of fourteen with raven black hair and sapphire blue eyes, walked down to the Command Center. Five rainbow colored cybernetic monkeys were awaiting him as they sat in five pod chairs, each in the color that matched them. Chiro looked over at them. He sighed and sat in his own pod chair. He had been hoping to come out and get a nice breakfast, but he knew that when they awaited him like that, there was bound to be trouble. Especially since one of them clutched a police file, when they were rarely asked to deal with police cases. He was right.

"What happened?" He asked, mentally preparing himself for grave news as the silver monkey handed him the file.

Which was exactly what he got.

"Children the age of five to fifteen years of age are going missing. The only thing they have in common are the fact that they are orphans," Antauri said grimly, hating that he had to relay this news to their young leader, especially since he fit this criteria, and Antauri did not like _that_ at all. Although, he supposed that since Chiro was living with them he wouldn't be considered an orphan to whoever was taking the kids.

Chiro frowned. He thought a moment, but didn't think about it for too long . . . as if something was going to jump out at him and attack him if he did. "Well . . . at least we can rule out Skeleton King as a suspect," he said.

The monkeys nodded in agreement. This wasn't him.

"Agreed," Gibson said. "It is to subtle . . . to discreet for him. He would want it to be known if it were him. Also, Skeleton King would not limit himself to ages or types, unless he was trying to scare you Chiro, which if that were the case, he would have done this long ago, because this is more of his old style, then his new one."

"But that does not mean we aren't going to help," Antauri said, as Chiro nodded in agreement.

"Antauri's right. We are still going to help. Right now we need to look at a list of people who work for Skeleton King, to see if any of them are suspects. I don't think they are, but . . . it would be good to look and make sure," Chiro said. "I mean, you never know what might turn up. It may give us a possible other suspect."

The monkeys nodded and they turned on the main screen. They looked through the list of people who worked for Skeleton King. They soon had narrowed it down to Mandarin or Sakko.

"It can't be Sakko. There's no way he could kidnap these kids. He's not big enough, and there is no way Skeleton King would trust him with the manpower to do it after his last screw ups." Sprx said, thinking about the tiny, six inch monkey, that kinda freaked them all out, what with his belly shirts and mini skirts . . .

"And it can't be Mandarin. He's to busy trying to keep Skeleton King happy, and right now, this wouldn't make him happy because it would be a waste of time with the war efforts. Plus, it isn't really Mandarin's style either. He would rather go after the big-ticket item, and then be done with it, which is why he makes so many mistakes," Chiro said. "So, it's no one who works for Skeleton King." Chiro rubbed his forehead. "I'm not sure if that is a relief, or if it's a bigger problem."

"Nope, definitely not Skeleton King. And I'm not sure either," Nova said. "But . . . it has to be a citizen of Shuggazoom, which that thought in itself is disturbing, because this is supposed to be one of the most peaceful cities in the Universe when Skeleton King isn't around . . ."

As soon as she said that, something sparked in Chiro's brain. _'Please don't let it be them . . .' _the teen thought, a wave of fear coming over him. One he hadn't felt in a long time.

Antauri looked at Chiro worriedly. "Are you alright, Chiro?"

Chiro looked at Antauri and forced a smile. "Yeah . . . I'm fine . . ."

Antauri looked at Chiro doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

Chiro nodded, although he hated to lie to Antauri. But he didn't want to voice anything until he was sure. "What are we going to do?"

Antauri almost protested, but was interrupted.

"The answer to your question is simple Chiro," a voice said. "You are going to do nothing . . ." and then there was a bright flash of light, and all went dark for Chiro as the monkeys cried out, but not in pain . . .

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><p>When the monkeys awoke, they were still in the Super Robot, but there was no Chiro, and all the lights had been turned off.<p>

"Chiro!" They yelled, standing.

"Where are we?" Gibson said, sensing the difference that they all did.

Antauri looked at where his son had once been sitting, but saw only a chair covered in dusty cobwebs. He wondered how long they had been out. Then he heard Sprx gasp.

"Antauri? Look at yourself," he said.

Antauri looked to see all the monkeys gawking at him. He wondered if his metal body had rusted, since it looked to have had been many years since they had been knocked out, and who knew what could have happened to the boy . . . let alone Shuggazoom. But when he looked in the mirror, he saw that he was not rusty . . . oh not at all. Instead . . . he was completely different. His eyes widened, and his heart thumped in his chest. He was back in his old body . . . with black fur, and green gold eyes. As if him dying had never happened . . . as if they hadn't even met Chiro yet.

He looked at them. "Gibson, I believe I can answer your question . . . I do believe we are in the past."

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><p><strong>Tauria: <strong>-gasp- Okay . . . I admit, that was kind of obvious from the title. No, it's called _Backward's _because they went to the future o.O lolz Anyway, despite the obvious twist, I don't think the first chapter is to bad . . . although I probably could do a bit more if I would spend more time on my chapters . . . but I can't stand not updating. So. Anyway, I hope you liked that! Please leave a review! :DD


	3. Where is Chiro?

**Tauria: **Hi! Well, here is the next chapter to _Backwards! _Thanks for all of the reviews! :DD

**Chiro: **When do I get to come to this part of the story, by the way?

**Tauria: **I don't know. It might be Chapter Three, and it might be Chapter Four.

**Chiro: **-nods- Well, Tauria doesn't own SRMT, so no body sue her.

**Chapter Two**

The others all stared at Antauri in shock. But whether at seeing him in this body or at the news he had just given them, he didn't know. He had never felt uncomfortable in his silver body, but going back to his black body, he realized how much had changed. No matter. Right now, all that mattered was finding Chiro. He waited for them to say something, to say anything. To do something . . . anything . . . besides stand there. They needed to not only get back to their own time, but to make sure nothing was going to happen to him in this time.

"How far back in the past were we sent, Antauri?" Gibson finally asked.

"I do not know," Antauri said. "I know that it was before Chiro's Power Primate was awakened, but after we were put into stasis."

"Well, obviously it was after we were put into stasis! We never let it get this dusty and cobwebbed up in here when we lived here!" Sprx frowned at Antauri.

"I think what Antauri is trying to say is that it wasn't so far back that it was before we were created," Gibson rolled his eyes.

Sprx nodded.

Antauri gave them all a small smile. "So . . . we have a fifty year time radius it could be . . . we should probably get the Robot running so we can look at the date. It may help us decide on a course of action . . . We also need to figure out what brought us back here, and how we can get back."

The monkeys nodded.

"Oh, and for now, leave off any loud alarms, and make sure no lights shine outside until we find out what year we're in. If the boy comes exploring we don't want him getting scared away by those," Antauri added as an after thought.

They nodded again and each set to work, trying to bring the Robot back to life.

* * *

><p><em>Kick. Swerve. Block. Thrust. Duck! Dodge the feint! Parry. Punch. Take his weapon! Knock him to the ground! Now, try out that new move!<em>

The boy thought in quick bursts, not bothering to spend time trying to plan an attack. He had never lost to this person before, but he knew there was first for everything. He never had time to plan a well-thought-out strategy, which were his specialty, because the other boy's specialty was quick attacks. He tried to at least keep his head, so he wouldn't falter during the fight. He was breathing heavy, and sweat poured down his muscled little body. Damp strands of hair obscured his eyes, and no matter what he did to try and move them from his face, they always fell back in front of his eyes. Girls liked to gush that it made him 'cute'. But right now, he didn't feel cute. He felt dangerous. He felt lethal. He would never intentionally hurt someone of course, this was just a sparring session to practice new moves they could teach their students, at their homemade dojo. When he finally knocked the older boy off his feet, they called it quits.

"Nice job," he smiled, knowing that because he had asked to train to test out a new move, that he was going to win. See, they couldn't lose to one another, so they instead would let whoever asked to test out a new move win, if the move were effective enough.

"Thank you. The new move was excellent. Name it, so we can start teaching it," the older boy grinned.

He nodded, and as he thought of names for his new move, he grabbed an ice cold water bottle and threw back his head. As the cold water poured down the back of his throat, he shivered. His throat hurt slightly because they had been fighting for so long and had not stopped for drinks. Once he had finished the bottle, he tossed it in a recycling bin and went over to where his older brother was planning out that weeks schedule. This even included what they would eat.

"So, how many new students this week?" He asked.

"Not much. Kids aren't as interested in it as they used to be. Street kids are starting to go back to the old street fighting ways, because they say we're asking for too much from them."

The two boys had also been street kids until they had found a house and fixed it up. Now they trained people in the styles of a special way of fighting. One they had come up with themselves. Street kids had come from all over to learn it because it had been much more effective then your average street fight. There weren't as many deaths this way either. They asked for money from those that could pay money, and food from people that couldn't. They thought it was pretty fair.

"Well . . . maybe if we change our prices . . ." the younger suggested.

The elder frowned. "No. Our prices are what they are for a reason."

The younger nodded. "If only the dojo had more rooms. We could offer them a place."

"True. None of them would stay long either . . . well, what if we fixed up some of the rooms. I mean, the ones we added the dojo onto. Not the ones we built."

"That seems reasonable."

As they were in the middle of their conversation, a girl stepped in. She smiled at them. She had maroon colored hair and light gray eyes. She wore ripped jeans and a red shirt. "Hello," her voice was crisp and clear. "Do you know where Chiro Neale is?"

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><p>Running.<p>

That seemed to be all he did lately. Was he too weak to handle himself in a fight? That was what people thought when he was running. Some people thought he was late for stuff. But the truth was, he liked to run. Running was how he dealt with things. His legs were muscled because he ran so much. He had discovered his love for running when he had entered a race for money. He had been banned from races now, because he had gotten so good. He liked to think he was the best at it. His sneakers were worn down because he ran so much. But it wasn't his legs burned as the muscles strained to let him continue. He wasn't surprised. He had been running for a few days now. He had lost track of what part of the city he was in . . .

He gradually slowed down to a walk, and then stopped at a store, stealing a bottle of water quite easily. He drank it a few blocks down from the store, and then went to go find a place to sleep that night. He was a nomad, and he intended to keep it that way. Someone put their hand on his shoulder.

He turned to see a boy with a red shirt and ripped jeans. His hair was dark brown and his eyes were dark gray. "Have you seen Chiro Neale?"

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><p><strong>Tauria: <strong>Well . . . that was interesting. I wonder why those people are looking for Chiro.

**Chiro: **Are you saying you don't know?

**Tauria: **That is for me to know, and for you to wonder about.

**Chiro: **-_- Oh you you _so_ know.

**Tauria: **^v^

**Chiro: **Please leave a review, so she will get to the next chapter faster and we can all find out what happens next!


	4. Time and Planning

**Tauria: **Yay! I finally got this done!

**Chiro: **Yeah, you've been gone a while.

**Tauria: **Yeah, I know. But I was REALLY busy over Christmas break. There was Christmas at my dad's, Christmas at mom's, Christmas at grandma's, then Christmas at Grandma's again, because my uncle couldn't be here because his daughter (turning 21 on February 6th, the day before my 14th birthday!) had a miscarriage . . . :'( It was sad. Anyway, then on New Years I was going to publish something since that is my anniversary of being on FanFiction! And I'm still gonna do something, but it might take a while. I'll try to get it done before the end of January.

**Chiro: **Does it have to do with your New Years Resolution?

**Tauria: **. . . yeah . . .

**Chiro: **That you only made last night?

**Tauria: **So what?

**Chiro: **-rolls eyes- Anyway, Tauria does not own SRMT, or anything else that may belong to someone else.

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

The next morning, Sprx awoke much earlier then usual. He had been sent to bed late last night by Antauri, and needless to say, he wasn't happy about it. The others were all sent for periodic naps too, and although none of them complained, none of them were pleased with the situation either. They wanted to find and get back to Chiro as soon as possible. He headed downstairs and ate a quick breakfast.

Antauri stepped in. "Sprx, would you mind doing us a favor? We need to know if the outside of the Super Robot still looks dormant."

Sprx nodded as he placed his plate in the sink. "I'm on it Antauri."

He stepped outside and looked at the Robot. It vines and ivy growing all over it . . . as well as some flowers he didn't recognize. Trees grow on the Robots feet, and some were so tall they stopped right under the Robot's hands. Others were enormous, growing over top of the Robots head; their vines wrapping around it as they did so. Many birds and things scuttled around in the vines, flowers, etc. He shook his head at the disrepair the Robot was in. He remembered how long it had taken to get everything off before. He chuckled, as he remembered the Kid trying to help. He turned to study the rest of the forest, and as he did, he thought he caught a flash of movement to his right. When he turned to look, he saw nothing.

He shook his head. _'I sure hope that was my over-active imagination, and not the Kid exploring the outskirts, and getting scared off . . . or worse . . . an enemy planning to attack . . .' _Sprx frowned, mentally chastising himself for not thinking positive. He really needed to work on that. Turning, he headed back in, sparing one more glance over his shoulder, in case whatever was out there decided to reveal itself.

He walked over to his tube, swearing he saw something else move as he watched the Robot's foot door shut. He shrugged it off though, and then strode in the Command Center, and looked at the other monkeys that were assembled. They had gotten the robot up and running, and were now waiting for Gibson to tell them what time period they were in. "Everything looks dormant outside," he reported. "It looks like we were still asleep." He decided to refrain from mentioning the things he thought he'd seen. He wanted to be sure, so they didn't think he was crazy.

They nodded, and he took a seat. Everyone was silent, each lost in thought; the only sound in the room came from Gibson's tapping away on the keyboard, as he tried to reboot the main screen. That was the only part of the Robot that seemed to be difficult. It hadn't been like that before. Sprx shook his head. _'Of course it wasn't . . . that's because it's different now . . . something has changed. I don't know what though.' _

Antauri and Otto went over to help Gibson. The main screen flicked to life. Gibson thanked them for their help and they turned to look at the date on the screen . . .

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><p><em><strong>Somewhere in the Distant Future<strong>_

The raven haired, sapphire eyed teen stood before a group of allies. Mobias Quint, Johnny Sunspot, Aurora Six, Super Quasar, Suppa, Kaeru (the frog team leader), Senshi (the yellow frog), Reinosha (the black frog), Pairotto (the red frog), Mekanikku (the green frog), Slingshot, Alyanna, Robo-Apes, Neekeeta . . . to name a few. Jinmay stood at Chiro's side, as he explained what had happened to the Monkey Team.

"We were studying these files," he held them up, "when I asked what we were going to do. Someone came, I never saw who, and said that we were going to do nothing. There was a flash of bright light, and then I passed out. When I came too, the monkeys were gone." Chiro met each of their eyes.

Jinmay looked at her boyfriend worriedly. It had been three days since the monkeys had disappeared, and no one knew where they could have been. Chiro had cried for hours on the first day, and the second day, he had searched as far as the scanners could reach for his precious team. Now, on the third day, he was back to focusing on the war. She hoped the Monkey Team was okay. Both because she cared about them, and because she was worried about what might happen to Chiro if they weren't.

"I stretched the scanners out as far as they could reach, but there was no sign of them. The scan is still running in the background, but for now, we have to focus on the war."

The allies nodded in understanding, although they were all concerned for both boy and team.

"Status reports?" Chiro asked.

Jinmay smiled as the allies gave him their reports. She watched him carefully. She knew how proud Antauri was of him, and she knew why. Chiro stood tall, shoulders back. He was attentive and listening; giving comments where appropriate. She could already see the wheels turning in his head. She thought to times when the war wasn't going so strong. Then, Chiro was funny, playful, and witty. It was amazing how easy he switched from normal teen, to serious leader, to excellent warrior, etc. When it was her turn to give the status report, she was so lost in thought that she didn't realize they had been calling her name for the past few minutes.

"Jinmay?" Chiro touched her shoulder. "Are you alright?"

She looked over at him. "Yes. I'm just fine." And she proceeded to give him her status report, blushing slightly from being caught staring at him.

Chiro nodded when she was done. As he pulled up the hologram of the battlefield, he looked up at them. "Alright, this is what we're going to do . . ."

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><p><strong>Chiro: <strong>Two cliffhangers in one chapter?

**Tauria: **. . . yeah . . .

**Chiro: **WHY?

**Tauria: **. . . because . . . I have no idea what I'm doing. I just write, and hope it works. These stories are somewhat planned out, but I never plan them out in detail because there are things that change when I write them.

**Chiro: **. . .

**Antauri: **Please leave a reivew!


	5. What Is Going On Here?

**Tauria: **-sings- I'm baaa-A-ack!

**Chiro: **Well, duh! How else would they be reading this?

**Tauria: **-_- You hush.

**Chiro: **-snickers-

**Antauri: **Tauria does not own SRMT.

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><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

"We have . . . two weeks . . . before Chiro awakens us . . ." Gibson said, stunned.

"You sound so shocked Brain-Strain," Sprx said, rolling his eyes. "We knew we'd gone back in time, and we knew it was before the Kid got the Power Primate . . . so what if it's two weeks before he awakens us?"

"I don't know. Something about it just seems rather . . . off about this whole situation."

Sprx said nothing, agreeing with his brother. So, they looked to Antauri, their temporary leader for this situation. "Alright. Gibson, see if you can figure out why everything seems out of the normal. Otto and Nova, make sure that there are no kinks in the machine and that everything is properly oiled. Sprx, you and I will go to Shuggazoom, to have a quick look-around, so we can see just how 'different' this place supposedly is."

Gibson nodded. "I will try."

"And we'll do our best as well, Antauri," Nova grinned.

"Yeah, ya can count on us!" Otto said enthusiastically.

"Good. If you are not done when we get back, Sprx and I will help you," Antauri smiled at the three monkeys.

They all headed to do as they were told, Sprx following Antauri out the door, activating their jet packs once they reached the outside terrain. The forest they had put the Robot in was even more overgrown and brightly colored then they remembered it. Even as high in the air as they were, they found themselves dodging trees, and avoiding the tangled vines.

"It wasn't like this last time," Sprx called to Antauri.

"No," he shook his head. "It wasn't."

They continued to the city in silence. When they reached the city, it was different as well. In fact, Sprx had to blink a few times to even believe that it was _Shuggazoom_.

"Holy Shuggazoom . . ." Sprx said softly. "What happened to Shuggazoom?"

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><p><em><strong>With Gibson<strong>_

After Antauri and Sprx left, Gibson immediately entered his lab and sat in front of the computer. Paper in hand, he began running all sorts of different programs on the computer to figure out what in Shuggazoom was going on. Once all of that was started, he began to do his own calculations on what had happened based on a scan he had done while rebooting the computer. After finishing his calculations, he was even more stumped then before.

_'I need coffee, I think . . .' _Gibson thought, as he rubbed his temples.

At a 'ping' noise, he looked over to see that the computer had finished running the tests. _'Perhaps this will make more sense,' _he thought.

As he read the different equations that began appearing on the screen, he wrote them down, comparing them to what he had written down . . . and trying to figure out why they were not the correct figures for time travel. When he was a younger monkey, and had been studying science, he had always found the study of time travel interesting. But the figures that he was reading now were nothing like the ones he had discovered you would read if time travel could ever be achieved.

Time travel could not be the answer . . . it just couldn't be . . . so what could have happened? How could they be in a place so remarkably similar to their own during this date . . . unless . . .

Gibson's eyes widened. Was that even possible? All of his studies had shown that it, along with time travel, was a dream that had yet to be achieved. It was also more of a problem then time travel. His fingers quickened on the keyboard, and once the programs were running for this new hypothesis, he wrote down what was supposed to be the figures for it. Once the computer made the little 'ping' noise, he looked up to find that they were the exact ones he had found when running the scans and calculations for what had happened to them.

"Oh, Monkey Doodle, this is gonna be difficult to explain to the team . . ." he groaned to himself.

* * *

><p><strong><em>With Otto and Nova<em>**

"Uck. It's almost as if we never took care of the Super Robot," Otto grumbled, gesturing to all of the rusted parts within the Super Robot's walls. They had only focused on the computers, alarms, and some of the weapon systems when rebooting the Robot. "I mean, look at the poor Robot! It's all in disarray, and it's way more overgrown then it was last time . . ."

Nova nodded. "The Super Robot is our home! It makes me sad to see it all rusted, and rendered basically useless."

"Come on. In my workshop I think I have some rust remover," Otto said.

Nova nodded and patted the wall of the Super Robot. "Don't worry. You'll be all fixed up soon." They went to Otto's workshop, mentally taking note of all of the rusty parts.

"The worst part is," Otto said as they headed to his workshop, "is that all of the rusted parts are where no one can see them. It's almost as if we were putting the rusted parts in places where it could kill our teammates. Luckily we haven't tried to activate any of this stuff yet."

Nova nodded. "Or . . . it's like this was all set up as a trap for someone . . ."

"This time is really messed up," Otto said grimly as he opened the door to his workshop . . .

"Oh Monkey Doodle . . ." Nova muttered.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Somewhere In Shuggazoom City<strong>_

"Have you found Chiro yet?" A small figure wrapped inside a cloak asked a boy with bright red hair and green eyes.

"No sir. We've searched everywhere. With all of his friends, and even people who didn't know him. He's either really good at hiding, or he's not in Shuggazoom City."

"That is what I am afraid of . . ." the figure said softly.

"Sir?" A boy in a red t-shirt and ripped jeans asked.

"Nothing. Gather up all the Searchers and just resume your normal lives. I must speak with my colleagues."

"Yes sir!" The boy saluted him and went to do as he was told.

Meanwhile, the small figure hung his head. "Oh, Chiro. What have you gotten yourself into . . ." and he headed towards a lab at the head of the city. "Whatever you're doing, please come home safe . . . and _without_ a giant Robot . . ."

* * *

><p><strong>Tauria: <strong>Who could that mysterious figure be, and how does he know Chiro? Why wouldn't he want him to find the Super Robot? What did Gibson find in his experiments? What is so different about Shuggazoom?

**Chiro: **Why are you asking US? Shouldn't you know?

**Tauria: **-narrows eyes- Yes, I DO know . . . and hopefully I will be able to answer those questions sooner.

**Chiro: **-is not paying attention because he is searching his memory as to who in the heck that figure could be-

**Tauria: **-sighs-

**Otto: **Please leave a review!


	6. Alternate Dimensions

****Tauria:**** Thanks everyone who reviewed that last chapter! I'm glad you're enjoying so far! I hope this answers everybody's questions . . . oh, and I'm sorry if there are captilization errors, or places where there is no periods! On this keyboard I am missing the left shift key (the one I normally use), and the period key didn't want to work earlier . . . but after hitting it a few times I got it to work xD.

**Chiro:** Anyways . . . I don't really mind this chapter . . . it's the first time I've come into the place the monkeys are at now!

**Tauria: **Well, it took me a while to figure out what the heck I was doing!

**Nova:** Tauria does not own SRMT . . . and she hopes you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Chapter Five<strong>**

"Holy Shuggazoom . . ." Sprx said softly. "What happened to Shuggazoom?"

"I do not know Sprx . . ." Antauri said softly.

Before them, Shuggazoom looked basically the same as it had once before . . . but now, at the head of the city, stood the Alchemist's lab, and a statue of three figures stood in front of it, but . . . from the distance they were at, neither Antauri nor Sprx could make them out.

"How did the get there?" Sprx grumbled. "And who are those statues for?"

"Once again, I don't know Sprx," Antauri said.

"Then let's find out!" Sprx said.

Antauri gave his brother a small smile. "I agree. We do need to get to the bottom of this. But we also need to be careful."

"No problem Antauri," Sprx grinned.

They moved as stealthily as they could. Knowing all of the ins and outs of this city (unlike last time) made it much easier. Before they could reach the statues though, Gibson came on the comm link.

"**Sprx, Antauri."**

"Yes Gibson?" Antauri said, as they slunk back farther into the shadows. As they did, Sprx strained to get a good look at the statues and found that one of them looked an awful lot like a cybernetic monkey . . ."

"**Report back . . . now."**

"Why, brain-strain? We were on the verge of making a could-be-important discovery!"

"**Look, I have information on what happened when we were blasted to this 'time'! You need to report back **_now _**before someone sees/hears you!"**

"Alright, alright. Don't get your brain in a knot. We're headed back now.," Sprx sighed.

* * *

><p><strong><em><strong>Back At The Super Robot<strong>_**

Otto blinked. "I knew that my workshop was gonna look different, but I didn't think that it was gonna be this different, " Otto said. "I don't remember building over half of this stuff! "

"That's because you didn't." Nova said. "Whatever is going on, it;'s not funny. Now let's find that rust remover. If it's even in here."

"Wait," Otto said, putting his arm up to block Nova. "Those machines . . . they're deadly. We can't go in there without getting chopped in half, pulverized, burnt, torn apart, . . . and I don't even know what else. However, there has to be a way to do a shut down for them all . . . I just don't know how."

"**Otto, Nova. Please report downstairs. I have an important announcement." **Gibson's voice rang out over the intercom.

They exchanged glances, and decided that it was important enough to go downstairs and avoid all the scary machines.

Once downstairs, they discovered that Antauri and Sprx had returned. Gibson stood in front of the monitor as they all took their respective seats.

"While running the calculations to see why everything has been so . . . abnormal recently, I discovered it was not time travel at all that brought us here. Someone sent us through a transdimensional warp. In other words, we are now in another dimension, reality, universe, whatever you want to call it. I'm not sure how they work, because not much scientific study has gone into these warps. Most people believe them to be complete and utter fiction. In my youth, I tried studying these warps as well as time travel, but to no avail. Anyway, it is lucky that I studied that, because I recognized the equations. After I finished that, I went to look up the history for this dimension," Gibson said.

"Would you please just cut to the chase, Brain-Strain?" Sprx interrupted.

Shooting Sprx a glare, Gibson continued. "In this dimension, the Alchemist never turned into Skeleton King. However, Valina decided to awaken the Dark One Worm. She sacrificed Chiro's parents when he was just a baby, and almost sacrificed Chiro too, but then Captain Shuggazoom swooped in and saved him. It tuns out Clayton Carrington a.k.a Captain Shuggazoom, was Chiro's uncle, the brother of his late mother. Since then, Captain Shuggazoom has raised him along with his dear friend, the Alchemist, who just happened to be Chiro's dad's brother. Since Captain Shuggazoom wanted to be able to spend more time with Chiro, he asked the Alchemist to build him a team of robotic monkeys to help defeat the worm."

Sprx found himself actually interested in this lecture, but, being Sprx, he couldn't let on. "Would you cut to the chase Brain-Strain?"

Gibson rolled his eyes. "As the Alchemist was creating the monkeys, he was given a vision of who the Chosen One was to be. He told Captain Shuggazoom about it. Together, they decided that Chiro didn't need to know, since he was so young. Once they created us, we left to go train. When we came back, all but Mandarin turned on the Alchemist. Captain Shuggazoom, Mandarin, and the Alchemist all fought us off and exiled us to the Savage Lands. We took the Robot with us. Since then, Mandarin has been training Chiro in the ways of the Power Primate. "

"So in this dimension . . . 'Skeleton King' and Mandarin are the good guys, and . . . _we're _the bad guys?" Otto asked, confused.

"Yes. But that isn't all."

"Oh, Shuggazoom, he sounds like a commercial . . . " Sprx groaned.

Gibson glared. "Chiro has always been curious about the monkeys . . . he always asked his Uncles questions about us. They usually refuse to answer his questions, but sometimes Mandarin will tell him what we were like when we were good. Sometimes he tries to sneak out to the outskirts to come and talk to us, but the three Guardians, as the people call them, have employed people called Searchers to keep him from venturing out here. "

"Well . . . why was the Robot empty when we found it if the evil versions of us were exiled in it?" Nova asked.

"They abandoned it, because it had a programed shut down and they didn't feel like dealing with it. They did leave tons of traps, though, in everywhere but the bedrooms. Also, they left the date on the date they were exiled. It is, in reality, the same date it would be in our universe. We've switched places with them. They're in our dimension and we're in theirs.

"Why?" Antauri asked.

"Well, from what I've gathered, Chiro has a choice to make. He can either join the evil versions of us, or stay with the Guardians. If he stays with the Guardians he will die, because Mandarin could not teach him everything we could have, and his uncles don't have certain skills that we acquired from being a team. But if he goes with our evil counterparts, then he will just run away from Shuggazoom and they will travel around the Universe until they are all either destroyed or corrupted. We were sent here, so that he can choose us, and we can save Shuggazoom City. And by my calculations . . . that is the only way we are going to get home."

"What about the evil versions in our Universe? What will that do?" Sprx asked.

"They are a test for our Chosen One. To see if he will choose the hardship of battling the Skeleton King, or if he will choose to run away with the evil copies of us."

"I have faith that Chiro will remain fighting," Antauri said.

"As do I," Nova nodded.

"And me!" Otto grinned.

"I learned a long time ago not to doubt the Kid," Sprx chuckled.

"I do not doubt that he will prevail either . . . it's whether or not they choose to join Skeleton King that I'm worried about . . . " Gibson said.

The others exchanged glances. "We have to hurry . . ." Sprx whispered.

* * *

><p><strong><em><strong>With The Guardians<strong>_**

"What news do you bring of Chiro, Mandarin?" The Alchemist asked, as they stood in his lab.

"I am afraid that the Searchers report that either he has gotten much better at hiding, or he is no longer within the city." Mandarin frowned.

Captain Shuggazoom frowned. "That fifteen year old can be so stubborn sometimes . . . "

The Alchemist nodded. "Just like the rest of the family," he chuckled.

Captain Shuggazoom laughed. "Agreed. Our two families always have been quite stubborn . . ."

Mandarin smiled. "Then I suppose it was given to me when you created me, huh, Al?"

They all laughed.

Captain Shuggazoom grinned. "Well, I'll go flying, and see if I can find him."

They nodded.

"I'll widen the scanner range," Alchemist said.

"I shall see if I can sense his energy," Mandarin said, as he closed his eyes and began meditating.

_'I do hope the boy is alright . . .' _they each thought as they went to carry out their different duties.

* * *

><p><strong><em><strong>With Chiro<strong>_**

****Chiro's P.O.V****

I raced through the jungle, congratulating myself on having evaded the Searchers. They could be so annoying. I mean, I love my uncles, and I knew they were just concerned, but can't a boy get some time alone? I don't understand why I always have to have a bodyguard. Nothing has ever tried to hurt me. And if anything ever does, I know self defense. Mandarin's been teaching it to me since I was ten!

Speaking of Mandarin . . .I need to put up a mind block, or he'll find me faster then I can even say Power Primate, and whisk me back home faster then I could blink an eye! Quickly throwing up a hasty block that would keep him out for about five minutes (it was more of an alert system then a block) I continued running.

The reason I left Shuggazoom City is because I wanted to get to the bottom of this Monkey Business, and find out whether or not those monkeys are really evil. Or if they can be reasoned with. Uncle Al sometimes says they're just an experiment gone wrong, but I don't think so. I don't know what happened, but something happened that made them afraid of us. Or maybe it was the presence of the Worm. It might have freaked them out.

Whatever happened, I want to see if maybe I can talk to them. I can talk to Mandarin without a translator thanks to the Power Primate . . . So maybe I can talk to them.

After passing much beautiful fauna and flora, I reached the giant Robot that they had supposedly been living in all of these years. Without allowing myself any hesitation to 'think it through' and end up in a panic, I entered the Robot, and shot up the orange tube, activating my Hyper Mode as I did so (in case they tried to attack me).

When I reached what my Uncles always labeled the Command Center in the old diagrams (which I had been secretly studying), I saw five rainbow colored monkeys. For a moment, I was excited I had done what no man/woman had ever done and gone to see these monkeys! But then . . . I started thinking (never a good idea in a situation like this) . . . about how Uncle Mandarin could change his hands to a sword and shield . . . and about how he had said that these monkeys could do that too . . . I began second guessing the wisdom of coming here. I swallowed, and all . . . five . . . heads . . . turned . . . to look at . . . me . . .

I had the sudden urge to run, but my heart kept me from going. I wasn't sure why, because every other part of my body screamed "RUN!"

They smiled at me. "Welcome, Chiro," the black one with green-gold eyes said calmly.

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Normal POV<strong>**

"H-h-hi," Chiro stuttered. He wasn't quite as cocky as he had been when he had entered the Super Robot. However, the monkeys supposed that years of hearing about how the Hyper Force were evil would do that to you.

"Welcome, to the Super Robot. It is nice to have you here," Antauri smiled at him. "I am Antauri, second in command of the Super Robot Monkey Team.

"My name's Nova. I'm the teams fighting expert, and only female."

"I am Mr. Hal Gibson. But please. Don't call me Mr. nor Hal. Just Gibson, please. I am the teams medical and science officer."

"The name is SPRX-77. But you can call me Sprx. I'm the pilot."

"I'm Otto! I fix stuff!"

Chiro gave a weak smile. "Well, you guys obviously already know my name . . ." he seemed ready to run, yet . . . he didn't move.

Antauri smiled up at him, wanting to reassure him. "We know you probably haven't heard the best things about us, but we are not evil. We are from an alternate dimension, and the evil Hyper Force has been sent to our dimension. I know that doesn't make much sense, and it doesn't to us either . . . all we know is that we were talking to that dimensional you, and then there was a white light, and we were transported here."

Chiro blinked, and relaxed slightly. The Power Primate obviously was telling him that they were telling the truth. "Wow. You guys must have had quite the time, here recently."

Antauri shrugged. "We have been in tougher situations."

Chiro smiled widely. "Tell me. I want to know everything." _'So I can buy some time to decide whether or not I trust you guys . . .' _

They exchanged glances, and led him to the orange orb-like chair. "Well, you may want to sit down. It's a _very _l_ong _story, and it goes against certain parts of this dimension."

Chiro nodded. And so they told him. Beginning with how the Alchemist became corrupted, and ending with that day (although they did leave out a few things here and there). During all of this Chiro's eyes grew wider, and wider, and wider, until they almost thought they were going to pop right out of his head.

"Wow . . . you weren't kidding when you said you'd been in tougher situations . . ." then what they had said caught up with him. "You defeated a Dark One Worm in your dimension?"

They nodded

"That's amazing!"

"We couldn't have done it without that dimension's you there, Kid!" Sprx winked.

"Well . . . it's still impressive. And it's good that you were sent here to help us, if what Gibson found was right, because we're gonna need it. We've been plagued by this Dark One Worm since I was a baby."

"We intend to do our best to help the people of Shuggazoom City." Antauri said

"Well, you have to meet my uncles, so that way the people of Shuggazoom won't attack you when you try to help."

The monkeys exchanged glances. "I don't know if they would believe us, Chiro, after our counterparts betrayed them.

Chiro frowned. "Maybe if Gibson was to show them his findings . . . "

"Maybe . . ." Gibson said doubtfully. "If I could get close to them . . .

"Well, in all of the stories I've heard, your pupils are pointed, like a diamond. But you . . . you all have _rounded _pupils. Also, your teeth aren't as pointed. And when your hands are in normal form, you don't have sharp claws on the tips of your fingers," Chiro said.

They nodded. "True . . ."

"So the evidence is all on your side!" He grinned.

They nodded. "Plus . . . I'll vouch for you!"

They grinned. "Alright, we'll go with you . . . and there is one more thing that could be used to prove we are on the side of good," Antauri smiled.

"What?" Chiro asked.

"The Power Primate."

* * *

><p><strong>Tauria: <strong>Ooh . . . another cliffhanger! This one just isn't as bad. xD EvilAntauri, you were partially right xD

**Antauri:** Please leave a review!


	7. Meetings

**Chiro: **Well . . . this is a long chapter . . .

**Antauri: **Agreed. It is quite long . . . But quite a bit happens.

**Chiro: **I know . . . hey, wait a minute. Why are we the ones starting off the new chapter?

**Antauri: **I don't know . . .

**Chiro: **Tauria!

**Tauria: **-sticks head in- Yeah?

**Chiro: **-gives odd look- We're starting the story.

**Tauria: **Cool.

**Chiro: **...you need to be in here

**Tauria: **I do?

**Chiro: **Yeah . . .

**Tauria: **Well, I figured you knew how to give a disclaimer.

**Chiro: **I do!

**Tauria: **Really?

**Chiro: **Yes!

**Tauria: **I don't believe you. Prove it.

**Chiro: **Tauria does not own SRMT . . . HEY!

**Tauria: **-snickers- oh, and thanks to EvilAntauri for the idea of switching over to the other dimension!

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

"So, how do we get the boy?" A red monkey asked, as five simians sat in a circle deep in a forest.

"Well . . ." the black one began.

"Actually, you won't be getting the boy," a voice said, and then there was a flash of light, and everything went black.

When they came to, they were in the same place in the forest, but behind them was the Alchemist's lab. All five monkeys bared their teeth and snarled, as well as making different monkey noises. Cautiously they approached it, weapons ready. Finding it empty, with layers of dust, they began to quietly speak.

"What do you suppose happened?" the green one asked.

"I don't know, but something is awful suspicious . . ." the yellow one said.

Then, one of them made a loud squeak. It was the green monkey. He had glanced over at the black one . . . only to see, he wasn't black.

"What happened to you Antauri?" he whispered.

"Maybe his age finally caught up with him," the red one snickered. "Oh, and he went blind too." The red one gestured to the blue eyes.

The silver one snarled. "I have not gone blind, Sparky! And my age has _not _caught up to me . . ." he began to pet where the fur was . . . or should have been. "I'm furless . . ." he said, confused.

The green one began to pet him slightly. "Hey, you're fully robotic now!" he said, somehow able to tell though the others couldn't.

"How curious," the blue one said with a British accent. "You probably have new powers now, Antauri. Why don't you test it out?"

The silver monkey, deciding it wasn't worth arguing (and curious himself), nodded. "Very well." So he searched the mechanical brain, and found what felt to be a power. Not bothering to check and see what it was, he activated it.

"Whoa!" Otto said. "You turned pinkish-purple!"

"Great," the monkey said dryly. He stepped forward.

"Watch out!" The red monkey called, seeing that there was a table that he could bump into . . . but to everyone's amazement, he stepped right through it.

The monkey looked down, and found that no words would form in his mouth.

"That is amazing!" Otto said.

Antauri nodded and stepped out of the table before returning to his silver form. He activated another power at the insistence and found eight spider-like arms coming out of his jetpack area.

"Now that's creepy," Gibson said.

He deactivated them. "That's enough powers. Right now, I want answers. Why don't we go and see if the boy exists in this place . . . he might know what's going on."

They nodded, and started their journey towards the Shuggazoom we all know and love.

* * *

><p>"Alright, this is what we're going to do . . ."Chiro had barely finished his sentence when six monkeys came stomping into the Command Center. Chiro's eyes lit up. "Monkey T-" he began, but was cut off when he noticed that this monkey team didn't quite look like the team he had basically grown up with. The monkeys ignored his unfinished sentence, and looked at the assembled people.<p>

"Alright, we want answers, and we want them now," the silver monkey said gruffly.

Chiro blinked. "What do you mean? What type of answers?"

"We want to know where here is, and why we are here. We want to know who _you _are, and why Shuggazoom looks like it's prepared for war. We wanna know what that giant bone triangle is, and why the city is empty. I wanna know why I'm silver."

Chiro bit his lip. "Hmm . . . I will start with the simplest questions." The allies looked at him in shock. He was going to talk to these monkeys! "My name is Chiro. I am the leader of the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force." The assembled monkeys exchanged glances. They did not recall appointing a human leader. "The city is empty because we _are _preparing for war. And it's shaping up to be a long one at that. Obviously, Shuggazoom looks like it is prepared for war, because it is. The giant bone triangle is the Citadel of Bone. In it is part of the Skeleton King's army. As for why you're silver, I'm not exactly sure how to answer that yet. Give me a few moments, so that I may see if anyone here can figure out just what is going on here.:" He turned to the assembled allies. "Suupa, Johnny Sunspot, Robo-Apes, you all see if you can use Gibson's computers to find out what is going on here." The frog, Johnny Sunspot, and two of the Robo-Apes saluted him.

"Yes sir!" They said, and they went to collect more scientists.

"The rest of you," Chiro turned to the assembled allies. "I suppose I will have to explain my plan later. For now, go rest, and I will call you back as soon as we have an update." They nodded and left. Jinmay placed a hand on Chiro's shoulder as she went over to a chair and took a seat. Chiro plopped down in the orange chair and turned to look at the five monkeys. They were all looking him over—who knew for what reason.

Soon, Johnny Sunspot came out with some news. "Well, after running a few tests, and looking at some of Gibson's notes from when he was still training . . . we have determined what happened."

Chiro raised an eyebrow, as he waited for what Johnny would say.

And so, Johnny told Chiro what Gibson explained to the team (leaving out the part about how this was a test for Chiro . . . he decided that was best left unsaid). Once he was finished, he said, "We are going to continue studying what happened,because this was previously thought to be a science fiction dream until now."

Chiro found himself cracking a wide smile. "So were cybernetic monkeys, and undead kings. But look at the Universe now . . . at this point, I wouldn't be surprised if pigs flew . . . although . . . on that day, tons of strange things are going to happen."

Johnny laughed. "Very true." He entered the lab again, and Chiro turned to face the five rainbow hued monkeys.

"Well, does that answer two more of your questions?"

They nodded. "Now all I want to know is why I'm silver."

"You may want to take a seat," Chiro gestured to the orb-like chairs.

They did, and Chiro told him, and even explained about the new powers.

"Dang . . . I thought his age was just catching up to him," Sprx remarked. "And then this boy springs it on us that he's either a ghost or a zombie."

Chiro rolled his eyes, used to dealing with comments like this. Nova hit Sprx with her tail. From there, they began to wrestle on the ground as Otto egged them on.

_'Oh . . . great . . . two monkeys that want to kill each other, while one eggs them on.' _Chiro thought, as he watched the scene unfold before him. Gibson and Antauri just watched, taking note of every punch, kick, jab, and bite that was thrown into this scuffle. _'Looks like I have to get to know them all over again. Part of me is curious as to what their evil sides are like (although, I've met Sprx's . . . but this one may be different . . . after all, that last time was the Fire of Hate) . . . but the other part of me wants to open up a dimensional time warp and put them back, and get my team home.'_ Chiro knew that the latter was not optional, so he broke up the fight, and told them to behave themselves. He and Jinmay went to tell the allies what they had learned.

Sprx and Nova stared after him with indignity. Antauri leaned over and whispered, "Listen to the boy . . . for now. We know little about this dimension. Soon—once we know more—we can leave him and go see about this Skeleton King."

* * *

><p><strong>In Another Dimension . . .<strong>

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Kid?" Sprx whispered, as they crept through abandoned alleys, and skittered across roof tops. "I mean, I know the three of them are great people, but are _sure _they'll accept us?"

Chiro led them confidently, and he looked back at the red monkey. He smiled. "Like Antauri said, we can use the Power Primate to prove that we are on the side of good. Don't worry."

Nova snorted. "Telling Sprx not to worry is like telling a living creature not to breath. It might work for a few seconds, but after that . . ." she shrugged.

Sprx shot her a playful glare and Chiro chuckled. They reached the lab, and Chiro went in first, telling them to wait there, and that he would come get them when his uncles were ready. The monkeys nodded, nervous. Chiro entered the lab, where his three uncles were (Captain Shuggazoom had just gotten back) and then –

"CHIRO NEALE! WE'VE BEEN WORRIED SICK! WHERE THE H*LL HAVE YOU BEEN?"

Chiro was shocked. His uncles never cussed – scratch that – _Uncle Al _never cussed. Much less used his full name. Chiro shifted back and forth between his feet. "Well, Uncle Al, I . . . er . . . I left the city –"

"YOU WHAT? CHIRO I –"

Mandarin placed a hand on his shoulder and turned to Chiro. "Why did you leave the city, Chiro?"

"I was tired of being cooped up inside. I know some crazy witch killed my parents, but I didn't want to be sheltered my whole life. Even though you guys were training me with the Power Primate, it still felt like you were trying to keep me locked away. And I didn't like that. So I escaped. I never planned on running away, and I still don't. I just wanted out. The city may be big, and there may be tons of fun things to do, but . . . I still felt trapped. So I got out. I freed myself. And it felt good. I wanted adventure, and I got it." Chiro took a deep breath. Luckily, Mandarin was patient, and he waited to continue, making sure that the boy was heard out. "Then, I did something really stupid, and I pushed the limitations of my luck. I went to look for the monkeys. And well . . . " he hesitated. "I found them . . . but not them."

His uncles gave him weird looks when he said the last sentence. "What do you mean?"

"I would be easier . . . if I showed you," Chiro said hesitantly. "They're waiting outside. I'll go get them. And . . . hear them out. Don't just . . . act."

His uncles nodded, not really sure if the monkeys had deceived the child, or if something truly was different about them.

One by one they walked in, with Chiro in the lead. Even though he knew he didn't need to, he felt like since they were from another dimension, he should introduce them. "This is Antauri, Nova, Gibson, Sprx, and Otto. They have quite an interesting tale to tell, and it's going to sound very strange . . . but trust me. It's true. If you need further explanation as to why I think that, ask the Power Primate, and look at their appearance."

Antauri stepped forward, knowing that since the Chiro that was their leader was not here, it was he who had to speak. Though they tensed, they made no move to stop him. He smiled. "I fully empathize how you feel right now, and believe me when I say that it is the same for us as it is for you. I am not used to speaking with two of you like I would on a normal day, just as you are not used to speaking with us. However, I can fully assure you that I will bring you no harm." Part of Antauri wished he had his silver form, if only for this moment in time . . . if only because then they would recognize that he was not his evil counterpart. "Now, I am sure that you are quite impatient to hear what we have to say." And so he told them about how they had come here through a dimensional warp, and then when Mandarin asked about what it was like where they were from, he told them of their adventures.

"This is quite an astonishing discovery," Alchemist said, as he came to terms with the fact that it was true.

Gibson nodded in agreement. "In my youth I had always been fascinated with time travel and dimensional warps . . . but actually going through one . . . or rather, a cross between the two . . . is something I never thought would happen. It had been my dream, of course, to at least witness one or both of these, but . . ." Gibson shook his head.

The Alchemist nodded along with Gibson. "I also never thought I would hear about an evil version of myself . . . having calculated the odds, I knew it was more then likely, but to have it confirmed . . ."

"While the two science nerds converse about the odds and other calculations having to do with the dimension-thing, why don't we make sure the citizens know you aren't a threat," Captain Shuggazoom suggested. As they were leaving, Mandarin drew Antauri to the side.

"I would like to speak with you," Mandarin said softly.

Antauri nodded and followed Mandarin up to his meditation room.

Once the five were out the door, the three monkeys allowed the full beauty of the place to set in. The lab was not merely set in the city where once you walked out everyone could see you – no – instead, they had high walls surrounding the area, and a front gate. The three statues were erected outside of the front wall, too the left of the gate. Inside the walls was beautiful. There were tall trees, a fountain, birds singing, it was almost paradise.

"Nice set up here," Sprx said. "But what's with the walls?"

"Ah, those? They're there for Al's experiments gone wrong. They were created especially for keeping in dangerous creatures, and getting rid of toxic fumes. They also make sure that when we test certain things out, they're not observed and stolen."

The monkeys nodded.

"It also keeps our little garden from getting trampled when fans come by," the captain laughed.

The monkeys shared glances. They had their fair share of those . . . especially Chiro. Although Sprx liked to say it was himself who had the most lady fans, which would always ensure either a whack upside the head from Nova, or an amused, 'No Sprx, that would be _males,' _which ensued Sprx grumbling for a good hour or so, while the team laughed.

"We totally understand that," Nova laughed.

From there forward, they flew above the city, and the citizens questioned whether Chiro and Captain Shuggazoom had turned their backs on them. Their questions were answered when they landed on a high place where the captain could address everyone.

"Citizens of Shuggazoom, today I flew with a few of those who have long been recognized as our enemies. I know that some of you question whether or not I am still on the side of the people. But I assure you that I am. For these are not the monkeys that betrayed us." There were murmurs in the crowd. "The monkeys that betrayed us were sent to another dimension . . . and this team was left in their stead. They are here to help us combat the Dark One Worm." There were cheers in the crowd as the captain said this. "Please accept this Monkey Team as the heroes they are, just as you have done Mandarin, Alchemist, and myself!" They cheered in agreement, and he turned to the monkeys. "Piece of cake."

"Speaking of cake, I'm hungry. Can we go get some ice cream?" Otto said, and they laughed, but agreed. Though the monkeys were told to stay close to Captain Shuggazoom and/or Chiro because they weren't sure if all of the citizens had heard the announcement. Once there, they ordered . . . then Otto said, "Hey guys? Where's Antauri and Mandarin?"

* * *

><p><em><strong><strong>With Mandarin and Antauri<strong>**_

Having reached the meditation room, neither monkey seemed to know what to say. They entered the lotus position, and floated in the air. Each was full of his own thoughts on the other.

_'What was it like to actually have the whole team betray you? The Mandarin I knew would claim that we betrayed him . . . but . . . At least he had some one . . . or someones to fall back to, I suppose . . . I also suppose it was easier, since he hadn't lived with the team for a very long period of time . . . But I could be wrong. It may have been no easier then when he left us . . . since we had each other for support . . .How did he accept Chiro, after having his team, his _**family **_betray him? How does he trust them . . . when the pain has to be so fresh?'_

_'What is it like to have your leader betray you? What is it like to have the man who created you – the man who was basically your father – turn into a raging psychopathic monster? What is it like to sleep for fifty years and awaken, only to find that the person you had been waiting for so long was a ten year old boy? What was it like to face your old leader for the first time since he had betrayed you? . . . and even more importantly . . . how did he take responsibility? How did he assume a temporary leadership over the team? How did he get them to trust the ten year old? How did he face the betrayal of an entire order? . . . how did he face death?'_

Awkward silence had filled the room, creeping up into all of the little spaces and crevices. The awkwardness was that of two friends, close as brothers, who were meeting after being apart for so long . . . and finding that they don't know each other as well as they once did. They sat in the silence for a very long time . . . before finally, Antauri could no longer stand it.

"I never thought I would have the chance to do this again," he said, not sure exactly what to say.

"Neither did I. Not that your counterpart and I did this much . . ." Mandarin said, also not sure what to say.

"Ah," Antauri said, deciding not to mention that for him and Mandarin's counterpart this was a regular thing.

"Yeah . . ."

Awkward silence once again consumed the room. But this time, Mandarin was the one to break it.

"How did you do it?" He asked, deciding that he couldn't just not ask. He had to know how this monkey faced all of the challenges that had come his way.

"What do you mean?" Antauri asked, although he had a good idea of what he meant.

"How did you cope with having your leader betray you? How did you face learning that the man who created you – the man who was basically your father – turned into a raging psychopathic monster? What is it like to sleep for fifty years and awaken, only to find that the person you had been waiting for so long was a ten year old boy? How did you take responsibility? How did you assume a temporary leadership over the team? How did you get them to trust the ten year old? What was it like to face your old leader for the first time since he had betrayed you? How did you face the betrayal of an entire order? . . . how did you face death? How did you come to terms with having a new body, with new powers . . . new abilities? How did you deal with chasing a Dark One Worm across the Universe, and nearly die (again) stopping it? How could you deal with your lifetime nemesis coming back after you thought you had finally gotten rid of him? How are you able to keep going? Even though there is a war going on in your Universe right now, and your stuck here, trying to help us with our problems?"

Antauri blinked. Mandarin seemed so worked up over all of that. _'I suppose it is a lot to have gone through . . . But after actually going through it, and thinking all of the 'could have been' it doesn't seem like so much anymore . . .' _"You've been through quite a bit too –" he began, but Mandarin wasn't having any of that.

"I know that. But it wasn't quite as much as you. Besides, in this dimension, you're may have the same time flow here, but what happened in the space of that time is different. So in this dimension, you are much older then me and all of the counterparts."

Antauri was silent for a moment, knowing that his brother was right. He _was _a lot older then the people of this dimension. "Well . . . if I'm going to answer your questions, I will have to do it in parts. And it will take a while."

"I don't care."

Mandarin seemed as eager as a child during story time. Antauri tried not to smile. "I will most likely end up doing them out of order," he warned. "But I will be as clear as I can."

Mandarin nodded, understanding that some of his questions were discovered later then others.

"When your counterpart left," Antauri began, not wasting anymore time, "we were all devastated, and heartbroken. He was our leader. Our older brother. He was supposed to lead us down the right path, and make sure that we were safe. He was supposed to keep us together as a family. When we had to exile him, it was one of the hardest things we ever had to do. The next few days before stasis, I knew that we could not function without a leader. So, I took responsibility, knowing that it was my duty as second in command. I had them slowly begin to shut down the Robot, after we moved it to a place where it was not likely to be disturbed by any other then the Chosen One. Once we had shut down the Robot, we entered stasis, awaiting the Chosen One." Antauri paused, allowing Mandarin to take in this information.

Mandarin nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"When Chiro awoke us, it shocked us all to learn that he was a ten year old boy. Sprx was reluctant to accept him as our leader, after the incident with your counterpart, and his natural suspicious nature. He also didn't want to involve anyone in the fight who he didn't think it was their fight in the first place. Gibson was also slightly unwilling, saying that it was illogical to let a child be apart of the team. Nova and Otto were willing to give him a chance, having confidence in his ability to learn what was needed, and ours to train him. Chiro, being a child with a good personality as well as a good head on his shoulders, eventually proved himself to Sprx and Gibson. Slowly, we allowed him to help fill the place that your counterpart had left."

Mandarin smiled.

"When your counterpart returned, and attacked Chiro, we were very worried on his behalf. We missed the person that Mandarin once was, but we knew that it was Mandarin's choice. And we were angry at him for making the choice to attack Chiro. When he captured us all, and was attempting to sway Chiro, I had my doubts in the boy, but the others held on to their hope. And for that, I was grateful . . . and slightly shocked on Sprx's behalf."

Mandarin laughed quietly.

"When the Varons betrayed us . . . I was shocked, and thankful that Chiro had come along. I was surprised he was able to get through all of the different gateways, but I supposed I should not have been. He was always good with the Power Primate . . . and his control was greater then any master's I had seen. But, he is the Chosen One. When we got back, and found Shuggazoom nearly in ruins, and Skeleton King trying to hatch the Dark One, I was afraid. When we were all knocked out, and Chiro went to face the Dark One . . . I was worried. I had faith in him . . . but I was worried. When I sensed he was in trouble, I did not hesitate to come and help him, regardless of what might happen to myself . . ."

Mandarin nodded again, not quite understanding what it was like to face death just yet.

"After I noticed that we were beginning to lose again, I knew that there was only one way to save my family. Especially after hearing Chiro say that he failed me. I'm still not quite sure how he could think that. So, I went into the egg . . . not knowing exactly what I was doing, besides going to my death." Antauri paused, but only for a moment or two. "Once I awoke in the new body, I sensed that Chiro and the others needed my help. I t didn't cross my mind until after I had saved them that I was supposed to be dead. Then, I knew that I owed Chiro my life. As for my new abilities . . . I knew that I had them . . . I guess I didn't really question it."

Nodding once more, Mandarin continued to listen.

"I missed Shuggazoom as we hunted down the Dark One Worm. We all did. However, we all knew that this was what had to be done, and that the people of Shuggazoom would be safer for it. Not to mention the rest of the universe. After that was done, we headed back. Part of me suspected that wasn't the end of the Skeleton King . . . It had always been hinted at that the Chosen One would have to face the Skeleton King in battle before he finally defeated him . . . as for us being here, and having to help others with their problems? It's what we were created for. Just because this is an alternate dimension, doesn't mean that we have to turn our backs on it."

Mandarin smiled. "I supposed you're right."

Once that was out of the way, the two were able to chat like regular brothers.

* * *

><p><strong>Nova: <strong>Aw! Brotherly bonding! How cute!

**Mandarin and Antauri: **-_- It's not cute . . .

**Nova: **Yes it is!

**Chiro: **I thought it was cool.

**Mandarin: **Cool, yes. Sweet, no.

**Nova: **-rolls eyes- Where's Tauria?

**Chiro: **I dunno. She wasn't there at first in the beginning authors not either.

**Nova: **TAURIA! WE NEED YOU SO THIS CHAPTER CAN ACTUALLY GET POSTED!

**Tauria: **-comes in- I know. I was coming.

**Chiro: **And taking your sweet time!

**Tauria: **It's hard going from one dimension to the other! I had to make sure the others knew that we were going to have to split the author's notes equally with them!

**Chiro: **...we are?

**Tauria: **Yes! Now, send us off.

**Chiro: **-is grumbling- Please leave a review!


	8. A Day In The Life Of Chiro

**Tauria: **I'm back! After a few (20) days of writer's block I am BACK!

**Chiro: **Were you really counting?

**Tauria: **. . . no. I just looked at the last time I updated and then the date.

**Chiro: **Ah . . . but . . . you published a poem on DA . . .

**Tauria: **I was stuck on certain stories . . . not on everything at once. Anyway, it took me two days to write this (due to getting kicked off the computer) and I'm not exactly very proud of it, but it is only a filler chapter to get me where I want to go. If it sucks, I'm sorry. However, as of right now, I have been itching to start some stories I've been planning out. I have a whole bunch of ideas that I want to do, but I don't want to do all of my ideas at once, so I will be starting a poll for that. (I already know which ideas I WILL be doing, but I'm stuck on a few. The ones that I WILL be writing, should be at the bottom of my profile).

**Chiro: **Now, without further ado, Tauria does not own SRMT. Please enjoy the new chapter of _Backwards_!

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><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

As the Hyper Force, the Alchemist, Captain Shuggazoom, and Mandarin were sitting in the lab discussing what would be done about the Worm, Chiro was sitting in school, listening to some teacher talk about something having to do with science. And he hated it.

_'I should be at home helping the others figure out what we're going to do about that stupid worm. After all, my counterpart doesn't sit around in a desk all day . . . he gets to fight! And make some contributions to the war their fighting. So why do I have to sit here? . . . how come he gets to travel around the Universe kicking butt . . . and I'm stuck here? How in Shuggazoom is that fair? . . .' _

"Chiro, are you paying attention?" The teacher at the front of the class asked.

Chiro looked up and gave an award winning smile. "Of course."

"Then would you care to tell me what exactly Nunnarivu's dimensional warp theory is?"

Chiro searched the back of his mind. _'I know either Uncle Al or Gibson said something about that . . . what was it . . . oh! yeah!' _Chiro recited what he had heard Gibson say the theory was. "But other scientists believe that he was just crazy, because even if dimensional warps could be created, it could have affect on the balance that our Universe so heavily relies on . . . It could also end up changing certain things that could alter our way of life."

The teacher smiled approvingly. "I'm glad you at least listen to your uncle."

Chiro blushed. _'How was I that easy to figure out?' _"Actually, it was one of his friends who studied the warp theory when he was in school . . . he's always liked to follow the different things happening about the theory . . ."

The teacher laughed. "Ah. Of course. Now, pay attention instead of daydreaming. Heroes have to be smart too, you know."

_'How did he . . .? Oh . . . never mind. He's another one of Uncle Al's good friends . . . sigh.' _"Yessir."

Chiro tried to pay attention . . . he really did. But his thoughts kept distracting him . . . When the final bell rang, Chiro rushed to get home.

Mandarin was waiting for him in the yard. He mentally groaned. _'How did I forget Power Primate practice?' _"Hiya Uncle Mandarin," Chiro smiled.

"Hello, Chiro. I understand that you studied warp theory today."

"Yeah . . . We did." Chiro nodded.

"You science teacher said that you seemed very distracted today."

_'He called them? . . . I'm so busted.'_ "Yeah . . ."

"Care to talk about it?"

Chiro shook his head. "Nah. It's not important."

"It is if your mind is clouded, and you are unable to properly concentrate . . ."

Chiro sighed. "Well . . . ya see, I don't understand why I have to go to school when my counterpart gets to be a hero. He gets to protect all of Shuggazoom and everyone he cares about, and I'm stuck behind a desk . . . it just isn't fair! I wanna go on adventures . . . I wanna see the Universe . . . I wanna face disaster head on, and come out the winner . . . I want to make sure that Shuggazoom stays unscathed . . . I wanna make sure that everyone I care about isn't destroyed by that stupid worm! . . . I want to be a hero . . . just like my counterpart."

Mandarin smiled gently. "Come with me."

Chiro obediently followed the orange monkey to where the Hyper Force was lounging. Otto, Sprx, and Nova were facing each other on the video game system that Chiro told them they could borrow, Gibson was using the beakers the Alchemist had loaned him, and Antauri was meditating.

"Monkey Team, Chiro and I would like to speak to you about his counterpart for a moment."

The video game was paused, the beakers were put aside, and meditation was put on hold.

"Yes?" Antauri asked.

"Tell them what you told me," Mandarin said.

"Ya see . . . my counterpart gets to go on all of these adventures, and protect everyone he cares about. He gets to meet all these new people, and hang out with his family all the time. Unlike me . . . I have to go to school and listen to the teachers talk about things that bore the life out of me. I feel that I'm wasting all of the time that I could be using to protect the universe." Chiro told them.

The monkeys grinned mischeviously.

"Ya know Mandarin, the kid has a point . . . I think he oughta get to see what a day in the life of our Chiro was."

Mandarin blinked. He had not expected this.

Chiro's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Oh yeah. If your uncles agree, we'll take you out of school for a day or two and then you'll get to see what his life was like. We have to prepare though. Gotta clean the Robot up . . . make sure that our rooms look something like they used to . . . ya know, all of that," Sprx grinned.

Chiro grinned. "I can't wait! Why don't you go talk to Uncle Al and Uncle Clayton right now while me and Mandarin train!"

Antauri smiled, mirth dancing in his eyes. "Alright. We will."

Mandarin gave them all confused looks, and Nova mouthed 'We'll explain later'.

Mandarin nodded and led Chiro to where they could train for the day.

The Monkey Team headed to where they knew the Alchemist was.

"Yo! Al!" Sprx called.

"Yes?" The scientist turned to look at them.

"The kid feels like his counterpart gets to have more . . . fun . . . then he does, since he has to go to school." Sprx grinned.

"We were wondering if it would be alright to show him what a day in the life of his counterpart usually entailed." Gibson smiled.

"And what was a day in his life like?"

The monkeys smiled and told him.

"If you guys could get the Robot up and running, I think that would be alright."

"Oh, the Robot won't be a problem," Otto smiled.

They told Chiro Al had said yes, and then they headed to find the Super Robot.

Once they found it, they got to work. Otto and Gibson went to find out what was wrong with the Robot (aside from the obvious . . . like traps set [that none of them had noticed, since they were too preoccupied trying to find Chiro] and their usual hangout places way more dangerous then usual). Once that had been established, they got to work. Within a few days (due to Otto's _excellent_ mechanic skills) the Robot was ready.

The very next night, they went and found Chiro. "Alright, then Chiro. We've gotten everything prepared. It is time for you to spend a day in the life of your counterpart."

Chiro nodded, and they took him to the Robot. He slept in the room they had prepared (they had gotten it as close to Chiro's room as they could), wondering what exactly the monkey team had planned for the next day.

At six AM, Nova was sent to awaken the boy. Chiro blinked sleepily.

"Ups a daisy, Chiro. Time for you to see what a day in the life of your counterpart is like!" Nova smiled.

Chiro stretched, and Nova left. He pulled on that days outfit, and headed downstairs. Antauri had made breakfast, and the others were enjoying it to the max. Gibson and Antauri were engaged in a conversation about some theory they were both interested in, and Sprx and Otto seemed to be in some sort of a competition as to who could eat the most, while they carried on a conversation with Nova about which villain was the scariest. Chiro sat down at the table, and then Gibson and Antauri graciously put their conversation on hold to include Chiro in their conversation.

"How did you sleep?" Antauri asked.

"Fine . . . you guys?"

"Better then I have in a long time," Antauri smiled.

Gibson chuckled at this statement, and said, "I slept fine as well."

When breakfast was over, Antauri smiled. "Now it is time for your lessons."

". . . lessons . . . ?"

"Yes. You'll go with Nova for combat first."

Chiro followed Nova to the training room, and noted how they all seemed more comfortable in the Robot. _'Probably because it's their home . . .' _

"I've talked to your uncles and Mandarin about where you are in your fighting skills, so we'll start there."

"Before we start . . . how much ahead is my counterpart then me?"

Nova smiled. "Don't worry about that."

Chiro nodded.

As he went through training, Chiro found that when that was over, he was sporting quite a few bruises. Nova _had _told him that she wasn't going to go easy, and she was right. _'Oh well . . . I get bruises when I train with my uncles too . . . no big. It's more fun then being at school anyway . . .' _

"Alright, head to Gibson's lab next."

"Where is that?"

"In the command center, it looks like a giant sphere with a door."

"Okay. Thanks." He headed to the lab.

"Hello Chiro. Did training practice go well?"

"Yeah . . . it did." Chiro nodded. "Aside from a few bruises."

"Ah, yes. Nasty things, bruises are. Today we are going to go over some simple medical procedures."

Chiro nodded, as Gibson led him over to a dummy that lay on one of the med tables. Chiro tried his best to keep up . . . but it was so complicated, and Gibson was making it look so easy . . . However, he tried not to let that daunt him from his task, as he set about copying the blue monkey. He didn't succeed. Sure, he got the basics right, but when it came down to it, he just couldn't do all of the complicated stuff.

"Sorry . . ." Chiro blushed.

"Nothing to apologize for, Chiro. It takes a few tries. That's why we're practicing on a dummy, and not the real thing." Gibson told him.

"I guess . . ." Chiro knew that the extent of his medical knowledge extended to a standard first aid kit . . . and even then, he didn't think he was ready to handle diagnosing anyone other then himself.

He and Gibson worked on the dummy for a little bit longer, before Gibson said, "Head to the red tube in the Command Center. Sprx should be waiting for you there."

Chiro nodded as he headed to where Gibson had pointed out to him. He wondered what the red monkey would be teaching him. "Alright, Kid, apparently you've made it through the day so far. Congratulations!" Sprx winked.

"Thanks," Chiro smiled, knowing he was probably referring to how boring he thought Gibson was, and how Nova had used to use him for her punching bag . . . "What are you going to be teaching me?"

Sprx smirked. "Ever flew a ship, Kid?"

"Um . . . no . . ." Chiro said, nervous at the prospect.

"Ah, don't worry. No flying . . . today you get to memorize basic controls."

"Right . . ." Chiro smiled.

Sprx led Chiro to the Torso Tank, and began to tell him what button did what. Chiro did his best to keep up, and found that memorizing buttons was much harder then it actually sounded.

"This one fires up the Lazertron Fury, and then this one activates your comm screens. Then there's this one, which turns the outside camera on . . . it's one of the ones you should press as soon as you get in the Torso Tank. Um, this one causes the Robot to go into vehicle mode . . . it shouldn't be pressed without warning for obvious reasons . . ." Sprx continued on and on with his little speech, Chiro nodded his head as he took mental notes for reference.

"And this last one turns on the auto-pilots . . . it's real easy. You just press that, and then choose which colors need the auto-pilot. You get all that Kid?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"Good. Now, let's see what you learned. I've activated the simulation, so why don't you take a stab at it?"

Chiro nodded, nervousness filling him. He went through all of the basic motions Sprx had taught him (e.g seat belt, outside viewing screen, radar, start button, etc).Chiro hoped that this would come easily, like the controls to a video game . . . no such luck. Once he had the hang of flying, things shot at him! It took a few tries, but he eventually got the hang of it.

Sprx grinned. "I knew you could do it! Great job Kid!"

Chiro couldn't help but swell with pride over this small acknowledgement.

"Come on. Time for you to head for your next class."

Chiro nodded, and they entered the elevator.

"Alright," he said, once the elevator had landed in the Command Center. "Otto should be waiting for you in his workshop. It's near Gibson's lab."

Chiro nodded and headed towards the place Sprx had told him Otto would be. Otto was waiting, and he gave Chiro a cheerful, bright smile. "Hey, Chiro! How've your classes been so far?"

"Difficult, but fun. Aside from some bruises, hard medical training, and forgetting over half of the piloting controls, this day hasn't gone half bad."

"That's good!" Otto grinned. "Alright, I'm the Robot's mechanic, so we're going to be studying the ins and outs of the Robot today." Seeing the look of horror upon Chiro's face, Otto laughed. "Don't worry. You ain't gotta memorize much. Just what I tell ya, alright?" Chiro nodded. Otto led him deep within the Robot, pointing out the different things that were kept the place up and running. Occasionally he told Chiro something that he would need to know, but mostly he just explained. Finally, they arrived at a room that seemed to glow red. "This is where all of the Robot's important data is stored. Navigation, programming, everything. And a little ways down is the engine. These are two of the most important things on the Robot, along with the Neutron Generator Core. They work together to keep this Robot going. Got it?"

Chiro nodded.

"The Neutron Generator and this room are by far some of the most important. This room is almost like the Robot's brain . . . almost. It's real brain is in it's antennae. The Neutron Generator is kinda like it's stomach . . . it's what processes everything and makes sure the Robot is running efficiently. The wires, of course, are like it's blood vessels and such."

"And it's heart?"

Otto smiled. "Us, of course. We make sure that the Robot gets its fuel (blood/food) and we also help heal it, and keep it 'alive'."

Chiro grinned. "How'd you come to that conclusion?"

"You're counterpart . . . he was ten when we met him, and he pointed it out to me . . . I guess I always knew it subconsciously, but . . ." Otto shrugged.

Chiro nodded.

Otto resumed his lecture on mechanics, and then he had Chiro work on some simple jobs, until taking him up to Antauri's room.

"Hello Chiro . . . I presume your day has gone well?"

Chiro nodded. "Yeah. It's way tougher then school, but . . ."

Antauri smiled. "Of course."

"So what are you teaching me?"

"I teach meditation, leadership skills, and control of the Power Primate."

"Oh . . . how do you teach leadership skills?"

"I suppose I don't really teach them . . . I just give you situations that it is possible that we, or you, will one day be in. Your solution to getting out will help you unearth skills you already have."

"Oh. What kind of situations?"

"I know that one of the situations involves a choice. The choice was to choose Shuggazoom, or us. However, when I created this, I saw no third option. Your counterpart did. Instead of choosing _between _us, he sacrificed himself, enabling us to stop the threat as he had handled the main threat."

"Wow . . . how long did it take him to come to this conclusion?"

"Not very long. When I asked him about it, he only smiled and told me he was just following my guidance. It took me forever to figure out, but I did eventually realize he was referring to the day the Worm egg was hatched. He also said there were other occurrences as well, but that was one of the main ones."

Chiro nodded. "Okay . . . so what will we be doing today?"

"I figured that we could see how well you control your Power Primate." Antauri smiled.

So as Chiro and he began to spar with the Power Primate, Chiro noticed something. Antauri didn't fight like Mandarin . . . or like Nova . . . he was . . . letting Chiro get him. But why? Why was he playing so weak when Chiro knew that he was one of the best fighters on the- oh. Antauri was waiting . . . waiting for him to think he had him so that he could strike.

Antauri was not going to be easily defeated. But Chiro didn't give up. He was determined. So, he continued, but this time he was more on his toes then before. After several rounds of this constant battle, the two opponents decided that now would be as good a time as ever to stop, or they would continue forever.

Then, they proceeded to meditate, as Mandarin would have him do after each session. Only Antauri didn't tell him to find his Inner Primate, and become one with it. Antauri just told him to meditate. Which left Chiro confused as to what he was supposed to do. So he did what instincts told him, and allowed himself to let go. And then, his senses overpowered him . . . he could sense everything in the Robot at once, and it felt natural. He could feel Nova's rush of adrenaline as she fought in the training room . . . Gibson's fierce concentration as he tired to create the perfect chemical solution . . . Otto's happiness as he did what he did best; fix the robot . . . Sprx's unbridled joy as he rocketed around in the Fist Rocket . . . Antauri's tranquility as he meditated, and felt all that was going on around him.

_'So this is what Uncle Mandarin meant when he said connect with your Inner Primate and you will truly see . . . this must be why he and Antauri have such a deep connection with others . . .' _

Chiro was content to allow himself to sit there, and feel what went on around him, amazed. But almost too soon, Antauri was telling him it was time to exit meditation, and head back downstairs.

As his eyelids slid open, and his eyes adjusted to the light, Chiro grinned at Antauri. "Uncle Mandarin has been trying to get me to reach the Inner Primate for years . . . he never succeeded."

Antauri laughed. "Well, now you've master the skill," Antauri smiled.

"Yeah!" Chiro grinned.

They headed back downstairs, but as they did, the alarm went off.

The monkeys shared glances. That was not supposed to happen yet. Al, Captain Shuggazoom, and Mandarin were going to have some robotic formless or something attack the Robot, and they were going to stop them, allowing Chiro to help lead them. It wasn't supposed to end up like this! But as they looked outside and saw the wraith like creatures . . . they knew that this plan had backfired . . . big time.

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><p><strong>Tauria: <strong>A cliffhanger! Yay! Okay, the next chapter is going to focus on what is going on in the dimension where the monkeys are originally from.

**Chiro: **So we have to wait even longer to find out what happens next?

**Tauria: **Yes.

**Chiro: **You _do _know what happens next, right?

**Tauria: **Pshh, of course! Anyway, the poll is now up!

**Chiro: **Please review, and drop a vote at the poll!


	9. Betrayal

**Tauria: **Well . . . here's the new chapter of _Backwards_!

**Chiro1: **. . . I don't like this chapter . . .

**Tauria: **I know . . . you're very picky when it comes to chapters.

**Chiro1: **-glares-

**Tauria: **Well, it's true!

**Jinmay: **She's right . . . it is.

**Chiro1: **Not you too!

**Jinmay: **-giggles- Tauria does not own SRMT.

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Eight<strong>

It was shaping up to be a very bad day indeed.

He had gone through all of his evil plans, and not _one _was deemed appropriate for fighting with the Hyper Force. Either it was too easy, or too hard. And both took the fun out of watching them fight. Looking down at the globe of Shuggazoom City, he examined it with a critical eye, as ideas danced through his mind's eye as to what perfectly evil monster would be able to take out the Hyper Force and allies. As soon as one popped in his head, something was found wrong with it. He could create a new monster, but that would not work, for he would need to know more about what was going on in that stupid city.

A knock jolted him from his thoughts.

"Enter," he hissed, ready to tear the head off the person who interrupted his brooding.

"My lord . . . look what we discovered trying to enter your castle," the voice of Mandarin rang throughout the throne room.

The Skeleton King turned his head, intending to reprimand the orange monkey for interrupting his thoughts. However, when he saw exactly what his most loyal servant had brought for him, an evil smile spread across his face.

"Monkey Team . . . how good it is to see you. I haven't seen you within my fortress for quite a while."

"We are not the monkey team of which you speak," Antauri growled. "We are from a different dimension."

"Hah!" The Skeleton King snarled. "You expect me to believe that?" His hand tightened around his new staff, as dark energy crackled at the tips, a clear sign of his displeasure.

Antauri sighed. "Look at us! We look nothing similar to those monkeys from your universe."

Upon closer inspection, he realized the monkey was right. They looked . . . evil.

"Release them," he growled.

His guards did. He pointed his staff towards them, and dark energy crackled once again at the tips, before shooting forward at the five monkeys on the other side of the room. They braced for the pain they knew was coming. However, once the dark energy hit them, the pain was not there. Instead, it crackled around them telling it's master exactly what it had found there. And the Skeleton King smiled evilly.

"They are telling the truth. Mandarin, instruct them in our ways, and ask what they know of the boy and his pathetic allies."

"Yes, my lord . . ." the simian bowed, and lead the alternate team out of the room, as Skeleton King began to chuckle darkly.

Once they arrived in the interrogation room, Mandarin asked them question after question after question. The team answered each one, keeping certain information to themselves, knowing that they would need that for later. Once he had gotten all that he wanted from them, he went to the Skeleton King and reported to his master what he had learned.

Skeleton King smirked. He knew _exactly _how to create this new monster . . . It would lead Shuggazoom to it's ultimate downfall.

"Thank you Mandarin. You are dismissed."

Bowing, the orange simian left.

Skeleton King focused his dark magic on creating a new, terrifying monster. Once he had created it, he was exhausted, but looking over his final product, he couldn't have been more pleased with the fruits of his labor. The smirk widened, and he summoned up the army he had been working on ever since this blasted war started.

"Go forth, to Shuggazoom City! Strike down all who stand in your way!"

They cheered, rising their weapons in the air before marching towards the city. He turned to his new monster, and gave it _very _different instructions. When it left, he smiled, as he felt his power start to return. Shuggazoom would finally be his . . .

It was shaping up to be a very good day indeed.

* * *

><p>"Where are the monkeys?" Chiro called as he walked into the Command Center. "I haven't seen them anywhere lately . . ." Chiro was worried. If they had joined the Skeleton King, who knows what they could tell him . . . and who knows how much stronger he would be to have them on his side.<p>

Jinmay looked over at the teen. "I don't know, Chiro. I haven't seen them either . . ." the girl's thoughts followed along the same lines . . . also, the other Antauri was the _silver _monkey now, which meant he was far more powerful then he had been in his previous body. Skeleton King would not hesitate to use that to his advantage.

Chiro looked as if he was about to respond when their comm units went off.

_**"The city is being attacked!" **_

"We'll be right there," Chiro said. The two hurried out of the Robot. They followed the sounds of attacking, and found the allies struggling to hold their own against the waves of undead that were coming in all directions. They quickly joined in the fight, but it quickly became apparent to all of those who were fighting that this army was _much _different then what they were used to fighting. After four hours of relentless fighting, they began to get exhausted from all of the fighting. The battle seemed hopeless. No matter what they did, there always seemed to be _more_. Finally, however, hope was reborn.

_**"Get out those upgraded Anti-Undead guns Otto made us! I just tried mine . . . they'll do the trick!" **_

All at once, the whole army tried out the weapons, and discovered that the speaker was right! They would do the trick _just _fine. And so, with their resolve strengthened, they took out the army within another few hours. Finding themselves too tired to celebrate at that moment in time, they headed back to camp. Chiro announced that he had one quick thing to say before they headed off to bed.

"We did great out there today. It may have started out a little rough, but we prevailed! Shuggazoom did not fall to the might of the Skeleton King! However, I did notice that the undead army seemed to know more about our attacks then they should . . . which leads me to believe the monkeys from that other dimension betrayed us. So, if they return, do _not _let them within Shuggazoom."

They saluted him, and returned to their posts/bed. Chiro turned to Jinmay. "Come on. We're on watch tonight."

She smiled at him. "You know, you really ought to relax a bit. I know that being the leader of am army doesn't exactly make a lot of room for down time, but you need to take what you can get."

He smiled back at her. "I know . . . but sometimes I wonder if maybe I've forgotten how to relax."

She shook her head. "I doubt it, Mr. Now come on. Let's get back to the Robot."

He laughed, and together the two made their way back to the Robot.

Little did they know that a pair of red eyes watched them in the darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>Tauria: <strong>Well . . . it's not my favorite chapter. But I wasn't exactly sure what to do. This was just a filler chapter to make way for the more interesting stuff xD

**Chiro1: **...oh, yay...

**Tauria: **-rolls eyes- Oh, stop it. There has to be _something _you're excited about.

**Chiro1: **Yes. There is . . . and that's the _ending_.

**Tauria: **-smirks- There's going to be a sequel.

**Chiro1: **WHAT?

**Jinmay: **While Chiro freaks out, and Tauria tries to calm him down, please leave a review! And if you haven't already, please drop a vote at Tauria's poll! xD


	10. Only Hope

**Tauria: **...heh,heh... Hiya everybody...

**All of the story cast: **-glare-

**Tauria: **-gulp- Look, I know I haven't updated in two months, but... I... I had a good reason I swear!

**Chiro: **And what was it?

**Tauria: **Well, first I wasn't sure what I was going to do for this chapter, and then when I finally deciding, I had writer's block! But, now I'm back, and I know what I'm doing... Some what. Sorta...

**Chiro: **What _are _you doing?

**Tauria: **Can't tell you... Disclaimer please?

**Antauri: **Tauria does not own SRMT... And if she did she would take forever to come out with new episodes.

**Tauria: **-hands on hips- Hey! Why you little-

**Jinmay: **-cuts off Tauria- Please enjoy! Oh, and this update is for EvilAntauri, since she gave Tauria a tip to help her write this chapter. :) _  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Nine<strong>

_'Why didn't he just listen to what Antauri told him?' _Mandarin thought, as the Robot followed behind the Dark One Worm. _'It would have saved us all from a whole lot of trouble... And now who knows what's happening to them both!' _

"Mandarin," a voice said from behind him.

Mandarin jumped and looked at Sprx. "Yes?"

"I know you're worried, but they'll be just fine. C'mon, it's Antauri and Chiro we're talking about. The Chosen One, and one of the most powerful monkeys on our side. Have a little faith," he winked.

"I know... but the Dark One Worm is... Much more powerful then any other force in the universe!"

Sprx grinned. "But you forget... We've taken it down in the past. We even got eaten by it, and yet we've lived to tell the tale."

"How do I know you're not all spirits come to aid us?" Mandarin raised an eyebrow, knowing he was being stubborn and foolish, but he did not want to lose an argument.

"The only one of us close to being that is Antauri, as you very well know... Or at least you should," Sprx laughed. "So Chiro will be fine. The most we'll most likely have to do is pick them up."

* * *

><p><em>With Chiro and Antauri<em>

"I should have listened to you guys..." Chiro said, looking at the ground from where he was being held by bonds Valina had placed on him. He knew that Antauri could neither hear or respond to him, but it made him feel better to talk to the black monkey. "I'm sorry. You were right. I wasn't ready... I'm sorry... So sorry, Antauri. This is all _my _fault..."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Earlier That Day<em>**

_They headed back downstairs from training, but as they did, the alarm went off. Gibson pulled up the threat on the main screen.  
><em>

_"Antauri, the Robot is surrounded by wraiths!" _

_"Really Brainstrain? Like we couldn't see that," Sprx said sarcastically. _

_Nova smacked him. "Now is not the time, Sprx!"_

_"Nor is it the time to fight among ourselves. I don't know much about these wraiths... Chiro?"_

_"Energy attacks work well on them, and they can phase. Close range attacks cause them to be able to possess you, so stay away from them as much as you can. Don't let them touch you, or you can fall into a deep sleep, where Valina can use your deepest, darkest fears in order to make your mind weak, so then she can either kill you, turn you into a wraith, or use you as a sacrifice for the Dark One Worm." Chiro listed, proud he was able to remember all of that. _

_"Thank you. Team, you heard him. Let's go!" the monkeys headed for the door, and as Chiro began to follow him, Antauri stopped. __"Chiro, stay here," Antauri instructed. "I don't want you to get hurt." _

_"But I thought you said I could spend a day in the life of my counterpart! I don't want to stay here, when you're all out there risking your lives!" Chiro frowned at him. "He wouldn't have to stay in here, or worry about getting hurt!" _

_"We'll discuss this later. Stay put." Antauri said, knowing he didn't have time to argue with him. He left. _

_Chiro frowned, sinking down into the orange seat. "But later it'll be all over..." He sighed and watched the battle on the screen. _

_"Scritch Scratch Doom Thrower!" Otto yelled, sending energy saws at some of the wraiths. This hurt them, but did not kill them. _

_"Sting Ring!" Nova called, finishing off the wraiths that Otto had attacked. _

_"Magna-Bolt Beam Splitter!" Sprx yelled, thanking the Alchemist that most of his attacks were purely energy attacks. The wraiths disappeared thanks to all the shots fired. _

_"Monkey Mind Scream!" Antauri took out some wraiths as well. _

_"Spin Shocker!" Gibson yelled. _

_Eventually, all of the monkeys ended up surrounded by wraiths. Sprx and Nova were back to back, and so were Gibson and Otto. Antauri was on his own. Chiro felt guilty, because he knew that if he was out there, he would be the one teamed up with Antauri. _

_"Double Monkey Attack!" Otto and Gibson said together, as they took out the wraiths that surrounded them. _

_"Electro-Vibra Force!" Sprx yelled, just as Nova screamed, "Sting Ring!" The wraiths surrounding them quickly disappeared. _

_Antauri used Monkey Mind Scream yet again, and took out half of the wraiths. Chiro felt a stab of fear, knowing the others were too tired to continue helping out. The wraiths had been feeding on their strength... He nearly cursed. He had forgotten to tell them that. He stood and ran out to where Antauri was.  
><em>

_The rest was all a blur. Antauri was prepared to test out a new move but the moment he saw Chiro he couldn't. He was distracted long enough to be captured by a wraith, and then Chiro was easily overtaken. They were flown to Valina and she had used her wraiths to make Antauri go into a coma-like state that Chiro had told them about earlier. The Dark One Worm had come, with a small prison within it's body, and a throne room. It was where Valina went to take over her victims, since it was harder for them to be interrupted there. The walls were completely resistant to the Dark Energy the Worm used to destroy and corrupt planets. In fact, the fortress they were in **fed**off the dark energy. _

_They had been there for three hours and Antauri had shown no signs of waking. All they could do now was wait. _

* * *

><p><strong>In The Other Dimension...<strong>

Chiro stood atop the Robot that had been his home for the years he had spent with the team. The allies had been over run by Skeleton King's newest creation... It had called itself the Tracker, designed to Track down the Chosen One and bring him to his master. But first, it had taken away all of his allies, and left him all alone in the city of Shuggazoom.

Chiro knew he could not defeat this beast on his own. He needed his team... He needed the help of the alternate dimension. But he would have to help them first. He had learned from Johnny Sunspot before he was taken the theory on how a dimensional-time warp was made, and now he was going to make one. But not here.

He jumped off the Robot, taking the shortcuts through the city, headed towards the Alchemist's lab. He knew that there was a chance he would never see Shuggazoom City again. But this was his only hope.

He reached the lab in no time. After entering, he sat in front of the screen. He thanked Gibson for all of his science and mathematical teachings, and started typing away at the keyboard, hoping that Johnny had been right...

* * *

><p><strong>Tauria: <strong>-_-

**Chiro: **What's got you in a bad mood?

**Tauria: **Antauri.

**Antauri: **-smirking-

**Chiro: **Why?

**Antauri: **Because I've been insulting her updating skills.

**Chiro: **Why do you torment the _author_?

**Antauri: **Because bad things are going to happen to us anyway, so may as well get them in the mood for it and feel like we accomplished something.

**Tauria: -**sigh- Well, anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and my lovely little cliffhangers. I'm afraid that this chapter ends _Backwards_.

**Entire Cast Of Backwards: **WHAT?

**Tauria: **-evil smirk- Oh yes. And until _Heart of a Machine _and _Losing _are finished, I'm not posting the sequel either.

**Cast: **But-but-but-but-but you can't do that!

**Tauria: **I'm sorry, but that's the way it's going to be. Don't worry though, I'm not going to take long on updating those two stories.

**Cast: **-sigh in defeat-

**Tauria: **Please leave a review!


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